Baked Cheddar and Bacon Dip

This recipe for Baked Cheddar and Bacon Dip is not what I would call a diet dip… nope… not at all… in fact when I told my son about it.. first thing he asked was… “oh… a Paula Deen recipe?” … nope … not a Paula Deen recipe.

Okay… Erik is right.. this recipe is kinda loaded with fat and calories… but.. you’re not supposed to sit there with a spoon and eat it all yourself… so a few crackers dipped in this is not the end of the world. The dip divided among a group of people at a party is not a lot per person…. I like to serve one indulgent dip or appetizer and keep the rest more moderate.

So where is this recipe from? It’s a recipe from the depths of my recipes on scraps of paper… recipes gathered over the years from food days at work to pot luck suppers and parties I attended.

I admit I can be quirky… I have some habits that are almost laughable… but I guess they’re what makes me .. me. I have this quirky habit with telephone numbers and recipes.

I have all these phone numbers on post-it notes that I’ve accumulated … stuck in… you guessed it.. my address book. Trouble is.. I forget to put a name on them… I’m sure I think I’ll remember who the number belongs to… yeah.. right….

I dare not throw any away in case I do remember who it belongs to and … well… I may need that number some day.

I’m not much better with recipes. I go to a party or gathering… I really like a dish and ask for the recipe. Of course… I have to dig in my purse for something to write on… an old receipt usually does the trick.. if not.. there are always napkins.

If I’m thinking clearly that day.. I write what the recipe is for… but that’s not usually the case… and maybe … just maybe… squeeze in a name of who gave it to me… if it fits… but that’s not usually the case either… let’s face it, you can only fit so much on the back of a Macy’s receipt…. I’m sure I think I’ll remember what it was and who made it… yeah… right.

We won’t get into just how many years I’ve been doing this… let’s just say… it’s been a while… I think today’s recipe was from someone at one of those catalogue parties where you get invited to a friend of a friend of a friend’s house … feast on dips and chips .. and get soaked for some over-priced stuff you’ll never use… but …. at least you do accumulate some really great dip recipes…

TIPS

You can lower the fat octane on this… you can use lower fat cream cheese.. I think that substitutes easily without compromising the taste. You can do the same with the sour cream.. personally… I’m not a fan of lower fat sour cream.. but you can try it. Same goes for the cheddar cheese.

Turkey bacon is also an option if you’re bent on lowering the fat in this…. I used the real thing…



As you can see from the picture.. I used my cast iron skillet to bake it in… I just liked the way it looks… you can use any baking dish you like.

Make sure you’ve gotten the cream cheese to room temperature… otherwise it’s hard to beat the lumps out of the cream cheese. Click here for a quick tip on how to soften cream cheese quickly.

Click here for How to Make Bacon in the Oven… it’s a great way to make bacon.. no muss no fuss and no mess… a very easy clean-up.

I used finely shredded cheddar cheese.. I found it will melt more evenly.

The recipe calls for horseradish mayo… homemade or store bought is fine. It’s great on roast beef sandwiches or even cooked beef… definitely not a waste having it on hand.

Use both the white and green parts of the green onion.. they’re both very tasty.
This is a thick dip… so serve hearty crackers or bread pieces with this… veggies will work also.

Try this for your next gathering… it’s delicious!







Recipe: Baked Cheddar and Bacon Dip

All you need:

5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon horseradish mayo
1 ¼ cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, divided
¼ cup chopped green onion
Hearty crackers or bread pieces

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sour cream and horseradish mayo. Beat on low until well mixed.

Add 1 cup of the cheddar cheese (reserve the remaining ¼ cup for sprinkling on top). Mix well.

Stir in the bacon, reserve a small amount for sprinkling on top.

Scoop the mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining bacon, cheddar cheese and green onion on top.

Bake 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and dip is bubbling.

Allow to cool enough to eat but still warm.